Buying a used Car with MOT advisories

Goudy

No, 1mm each edge = 2mm
20mm minus 2mm = 18mm or the minimum thickness.

Of course you might get one side wearing faster than the other but you'd still want to inspect them as it's likely the caliper it sticking.

paul_c123

If the discs (and tyres) are 50% the way through their life, there's an argument for NOT changing them because they still have 50% left - the overzealous MoT tester scenario.

If they're 85% the way through their life, while still pass+advise on MoT, there's an argument FOR changing them.

The fact that the dealer isn't that bothered in doing it to complete a sale is a two way street. It might be that they really are only half way through and its a waste of money and time to do it. Or it might be that they're just tight fisted; or that they know they'll sell it next week to someone else who isn't as bothered as the OP. 

As previously said, there's plenty of other cars out there.

Mildly_Miffed

Goudy said:

No, 1mm each edge = 2mm
20mm minus 2mm = 18mm or the minimum thickness.

Of course you might get one side wearing faster than the other but you'd still want to inspect them as it's likely the caliper it sticking.

Agreed. 1mm wear EACH SIDE is the difference between 20mm thick and 18mm thick.

But the lip may be greater than that, because it can be a build up of rusty scale that takes the overall width to greater than the original 20mm. I've had disks that have swollen so much from scale that they actually foul on the caliper. A quick bit of percussive maintenance gets the scale off, but that does need the wheels removing, which Mr MOT can't and won't do.

An MOT advisory on disks is a clue to go and have a proper look, no more. If they ARE thin, then they're cheap on this.

prowla

As I read the OP, it's not about wear and tear of the tyres, but rather degradation:

Nearside Rear Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (5.2.3 (d) (ii))

Offside Rear Tyre slightly damaged/cracking or perishing (5.2.3 (d) (ii))

Having them replaced would b a non-negotiable for me.

Stonk

The OP said from their own inspection that "the tyres definitely haven't been replaced as there are obvious cracks".  Personally, I'd be changing any tyre pronto if I could see "obvious cracks".  If the seller won't do it, then I'd consider that the car is costing £200 more than the sticker price, and if I'd have bought it at £200 higher then I will still buy it, otherwise I walk away.

The discs is a different matter.  I had 4 consecutive years of advisories that my discs were worn but still OK before they finally needed replacing.  The MOT inspector seems to use the advisory to mean "you have used your brakes".  I fully expect that next year's MOT will start advising me about the new discs!  Maybe I should go to a less zealous inspector.

prowla

Stonk said:

The OP said from their own inspection that "the tyres definitely haven't been replaced as there are obvious cracks".  Personally, I'd be changing any tyre pronto if I could see "obvious cracks".  If the seller won't do it, then I'd consider that the car is costing £200 more than the sticker price, and if I'd have bought it at £200 higher then I will still buy it, otherwise I walk away.

The discs is a different matter.  I had 4 consecutive years of advisories that my discs were worn but still OK before they finally needed replacing.  The MOT inspector seems to use the advisory to mean "you have used your brakes".  I fully expect that next year's MOT will start advising me about the new discs!  Maybe I should go to a less zealous inspector.

Yep, as per my previous comment:

prowla said:

The price of the car is car + a set of tyres.

paul2louise

So after a bit of negotiation they agreed to replacing both tyres and we can have the car on Friday. She then sent me an email with bank sort code and account and it said can you get mum to pay the balance minus the £250 holding deposit. I thought this was a bit odd not getting a proper invoice. Also do you pay the balance before seeing the car. I haven't seen the car cleaned or tyres replaced. 

paul_c123

I'd not pay in advance of seeing it but others might blindly trust a Toyota dealer. They want the money in advance because their accounts team etc are slow and they want/need a whole day to: check they have received the money and print an invoice. These tasks take about 10 mins. 

Personally I'd tell them I'll pay on Friday once I've seen the car, then collect it that day too. If they can't cope with that.......

Just be mindful of bank anti-fraud measures - it might be a PITA transferring the relevant amount of money quickly. Also, check in advance what your daily limit is - some banks limit it to £5k, others £100k or whatever or set by the account holder in the app.

paul2louise

paul_c123 said:

I'd not pay in advance of seeing it but others might blindly trust a Toyota dealer. They want the money in advance because their accounts team etc are slow and they want/need a whole day to: check they have received the money and print an invoice. These tasks take about 10 mins. 

Personally I'd tell them I'll pay on Friday once I've seen the car, then collect it that day too. If they can't cope with that.......

Just be mindful of bank anti-fraud measures - it might be a PITA transferring the relevant amount of money quickly. Also, check in advance what your daily limit is - some banks limit it to £5k, others £100k or whatever or set by the account holder in the app.

Yes I agree. I just thought it felt a bit rushed. I know mum isn't keen on just doing bank transfers to account you haven't used before and certainly large amount. She can pay with her bank card when we see the car. I just feel like it feels a bit unprofessional 

Goudy

It's quite normal for the larger main dealers to ask you to pay up front like this.
I've done it a few times, I wouldn't worry too much.

One of the reasons is/used to be you would normally need to go into the bank or building society and transfer larger amounts over the counter.

These days online, telephone and mobile banking sort of over comes that but as mentioned, banks have limits on card, online and mobile (app based) banking and they aren't always the same.

Most cards have a spending limit and some banks have different limits on app and online even from the same account.

I think my banks limit is a lot smaller via the app than it is logging in online, but oddly it uses the app to confirm my identity for the online transaction.